Undocumented Immigrants, Children of

As of 2008, undocumented immigrants made up roughly 4% of the adult population of the United [Page 2209]States. Due to the youth and relatively high birthrates of this population, their children represent about 7% of the children under the age of 18 and roughly one third of all children of immigrants. Thus, an average of one or two children in every public school classroom in the United States has at least one undocumented parent. In 2009 there were about 5 million children of undocumented immigrants in the United States, 4 million of whom were U.S. citizens, and 1 million of whom were undocumented themselves. While children of undocumented immigrants face many of the same challenges as other immigrant children, the immigration statuses of their parents and themselves create particular barriers for this group. This entry presents the most common immigration histories and family structures of this group, includes a brief history of the policy context that creates the status of “illegal immigrant,” and concludes with a review of the ways in which parents' undocumented status can shape children's daily lives and affect their developmental and life outcomes.